Sometimes, pocket diapers such as Bumgenius and Fuzzibunz are sold with their microfiber inserts. And sometimes, some pockets are sold without. Or you’re shopping on Spots or a message board FSOT and the inserts aren’t included. Don’t fear! You can easily make your own from materials you can easily find around the house or buy for very cheap.
Perhaps the easiest inserts are prefold diapers. Take a small sized prefold, preferably the higher quality variety you can find online, fold it into thirds and voila! You’ve got instant insert that is super absorbant.
If you like microfiber, just pick up some cheap microfiber towels at Walmart or Target in the automotive section. You can get a whole stack for a few bucks. Either just fold those into thirds and stuff them into the pocket, or do what I did. I’m not a sewer by any means, but even I was able to fold the towels into thirds and sew across each end. That leaves the middle unsewed so it’s easier to clean and dry but keeps it’s “shape” so you don’t have to fold every time you’re folding diaper laundry.
You can also find some fabrics in the stores or online, such as flannel (or use old baby blankets from around the house!), bamboo fabrics, hemp or whatever you prefer. You can sew them up easily into inserts or just fold them and stuff. Even old bath towels that are bound for the scrap pile can make great inserts!
This also works if you’re looking for some extra stuffin’s to pack a pocket for night time.
You can even mix and match your inserts. I will often take a homemade microfiber insert and wrap a prefold around it for a super-duper absorbent insert. Haven’t had a leak yet!
When it comes to pocket inserts, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and use whatever is handy. Experiment and find the perfect homemade combination that works for you!
I am a mother to one beautiful daughter Sadie 18 mths. I have been using Fuzzibunzs since she was 2 mths old. A friend of mine turned me on to cloth and after researching and trying a few brands I decided on Fuzzibunz because they were super absorbent and didn’t take forever to dry like the AIO’s. Plus I just felt like they got cleaner. I purchased my FB’s from http://www.snappydiapers.com/ a local cloth diaper retailer. The owner even let me come pick them up. She showed me how to adjust the one size fit. I absolutely love the onesize FB’s. We bought a dozen at first then upgraded that to two dozen. Sadie has been wearing them ever since and we only had one prob with one of the waterproof linings wearing out, most likely my fault from drying too much. I have found lots of useful info on clothies at http://diaperjungle.com/ their site has tons of info for the CD user. We will continue using cloth and with our future children as well!
I really need to figure out how to make my own, because we can’t afford buying them.
Do you use a sewing machine?
You can also add a microfiber towel, folded in thirds, to the center panel of an infant size prefold, and then fold the prefold around it, this provides enough “natural” fiber to allow the microfiber to perform to it’s full extent, yet still pretty trim
Making your own pocket inserts can not only be economical, it can also be fun and creative as well. You can insert a little bit of your own personality in how you design and present a pocket insert that will make other mothers not only curious, but perhaps a little envious about how you came up with such an innovative and efficient pocket insert. Keep coming up with those great ideas. Usually hand crafted ideas turn out to be the best ones.
I am going to be trying soon!
http://couponmommyof2.blogspot.com/